Review of Batman Begins (2005) by Tim S — 24 Apr 2017

I've waited a long time to sit down and write down my thoughts about Batman Begins, and having recently revisited it, I think it's time to do that. Batman Begins, as one would expect from Christopher Nolan, is a very solid movie.

It has some great performances, stunts, story and it all makes narrative sense. It's a well-made movie that deserves its fans for not just being a good Batman movie, but a good film. I totally believe that.

But, being the nitpicker that I am, I can't ignore certain things that stand out to me. One, Katie Holmes. I find her pretty annoying. That's really a personal preference, but whatever. Two, the second half of the movie.

After the origins part of the movie is over, the movie has to go on with some sort of plot. It's sort of set up in the first half, but not really. The second half is actually the weaker of the two halves, narratively.

It's enjoyable, but we've seen this sort of thing before, which goes against what we haven't seen before in the first half. And finally, three. This is what I like to call Smokey and the Bandit/Will Smith quipping dialogue and reactions.

Ok, that's a big description, but here's the point. This movie, and The Dark Knight as well, have those sort of cliche'd moments where somebody says "That's not good" when something bad happens.

Specifically, the chase after the Tumbler scene when Rachel is poisoned is what I'm referring to. The dialogue in that area is not very good, and it stands out to me big time. It doesn't ruin the movie for me, but it does take me out of it a little bit.

Overall, it's a fantastic beginning for a new and downbeat series of movies that turned a franchise around and did something better with it for once.